Fire-protective and roof-cooling device



Nov. 17, 1931.

C. T. PIERCE FIRE PROTECTIVE AND ROOF COOLING DEVICE Filed March 25.1929 S .w re T #MC MA .n H e A V M 8 0 Q cm VI ID Patented Nov. 17, 1931CARLOS m. PIERCE, or nnw'ron, MASSACHUSETTS FIRE-PROTECTIVE ANDROOF-COOLING DEVICE Application filed March 25, 1929. Serial No.349,555.

This invention relates to improvements in lire-protective androof-cooling devices for buildings, and the object thereof is to providea device for projecting jets 01": Water 5 upon the roof of a house insuch a manner as substantially to moisten the entire roof, therebyprotecting an inflammable roof from ignition by burning brands fromanother building.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter specified adapted to provide a flow of water across the roofwhich in dropping to the ground from the eaves thereof will provide aprotective apron or the sides of the building which will protect it fromfire.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a device ofthe character described for inoistening the roof of a building duringhot weather so that the evaporation of the water from the roof willproduce a very substantial cooling effect upon the roof and the air oftheupper chambers of the house and also will cool the air in thevicinity of the house. A further object of the invention istoprovide afire-protective and roof-cooling device of the character specified madein sections which can be readily constructed and assembled.

A further object of the invention is to'provide a constructioncomprising a sheet metal saddle board, for the ridge of a. roof, formedin sections, each having rigid therewith a fluid-conducting conduitperforated at intervals to provide jet-producing orifices, with meansfor coupling the endsof the conduit sections together in such a manneras to assemble and maintain the adjacent saddle J board sections inoverlapping relation.

A further object of the invention is to provide sucha construction thatthe overlapping ends of adjacent sections of saddle boards will preventwater from flowing there-i between without the necessity of soldering orotherwise sealing the joint between the sections. j 7

Another object of the invention is to pro.- vide such a constructionthat one of the sections of saddle board and conduit can bereadshortened if necessary or desirable.

Another object of the invention is to provide sadd is board sectionseach having a plurality of pipe-receiving brackets, with means forrigidly securing the pipeto the respective brackets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a housing for the pipewith su1table means for securing the housing to the pipesupportingbracket.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description and the accompanying drawings andwill be particularly pointcd out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1

having applied roof-cooling tion Fi 2 is a is a perspective View of ahouse thereto a fire-protective and device embodying the invendetailview illustrating a pluralitj of saddle board sections having rigidtherewith a rated at intervals and illustrating a pre fluid-conductingconduit perfoerred means for connecting adjacent sections of the conduittogether, with the ends of the saddle boards in overlapping relation;

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing two saddle boardsectlons with the fluidconducting conduits secured thereto in separated position, with acoupling intermediate of the conduit sections adapted to assemble thesections in overlappi ng relation, as illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a side elevation showing a suitable housing or cover-111g forthe conduit; and,

Fig. 5 ferre d me is a detail view illustrating preans for supportingthe conduit upon the saddle board and the housing upon the conduit.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings applied to a building such as a factory, oificebuilding or dwelling and comprises a saddle board which is mounted onthe ridge of the roof and of which iormlng which is formed in sectionseach -lS provided with a pipe section a fluid-conducting means extendinglongitudinally of the saddle board section and perforate d at intervalswith suitable means coupling the adjacent ends of sections together insuch a manner that the end of one saddle board section overlies theadjacent end of another.

The saddle board is formed in sections 1, desirably of sheet metalpreferably copper, of inverted V-shaped cross section and having therequired angularity to correspond to the pitch of the roof.

One end of each section, which may be termed the front end 2, desirablyis mitred or cut on an angle rearwardly from the apex 3 of the saddleboard. The opposite end 4 of each section of the saddle board desirablyis cut at right angles to the apex or ridge of the section. Each saddleboard section is provided wh fluid-conducting means such as a pipesection 5 which may be secured to the saddle board section in anysuitable man ner.

In the preferred construction illustrated herein the saddle boardsection is provided with a plurality or series of brackets having acircular pipe-embracing section 6 and dowrnvardly extending legs 7diverging from each other at the same angle as the sides of the saddleboard section 1. The legs of the brackets may be secured to the saddleboard section in any desired manner as by bolts 8 or soldering 9. Thecircular portions 6 of the brackets are in alinement and desirably arevertically over the apex or ridge of the saddle board. I

The pipe sections are provided with a series of narrowly spacedapertureslO located in the lower portion of the pipe and so positionedas to direct jets of fluid from the pipe upon or in substantialparallelism with the faces of the saddle board 1.

In order properly to position the pipeand prevent rotation thereof aboutits axis, means desirably are provided for securing the pipe to thebrackets 6. Any suitable means may be employed. The preferred meansillustrated herein comprises screws 11 which eutend' through suitableapertures in the brackets and are seated in screw threaded walls ofapertures in the pipe 5. The screws 11 may also be employed to secure acover or housing upon the brackets as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 forpurposes which will hereinafter appear.

The front end 12 of the pipe section 5 desirably terminates short of thefront end 2 of the saddle board section and is provided with a screwthreaded end. The rear end 13 of the pipe desirably extends beyond therear end 4 of the saddle board and is provided with screw threads ofopposite upon the front end 12. The front and rear ends of adjacent pipesections are coupled togetherby a nipple or coupling 14 provided at itsrespective ends with internal screw threads of reverse pitch which arecomplementary to the. threads of the front and rear ends 12- and 13 ofthe pipe sections; When,

pitch to those therefore, the coupling 14 is applied and screwed up, theadjacent ends of the saddle board sections will be drawn intotelescoping arrangement.

Desirably the bevel of the front end of each saddle board section issuch that when the nipple is screwed up it will overlap the rear end ofthe adjacent section sufliciently to bring the squared end well behindthe beveled front end, so that any fluid which is projected upon theoverlying front end of the saddle board section will run down u on theface of the overlapped section and e shed from such face without dangerof causing an accumulation of the fluid which will cause it to enterbetween the adjacent faces of said sections and to flow around thesquared rear end of the overlapped section. By thus bevelling the end ofthe overlapping section, water is prevented from accumulating betweenthe lower face of the overlapping section and the one beneath it whichin cold weather would freeze and turn up the corner of the section asmay be observed in usual V- shaped saddle board constructions.

It has heretofore been pointed out that it is desirable that the rearend of each section shall extend at right angles to the apex or ridge ofthe. section and that the rear end 13 of the pipe. shall extend beyondthe rear end of the section. This is particularly desirable in orderthat the rear end of any section may be cut off when necessary ordesirable to finish the saddle board flush with the end of the ridge ofthe roof.

By virtue of such construction the saddle boards with the attached pipesor conduits may be constructed in sections of standard length and if,when assembled upon a roof, the rear end of the saddle board projectsbeyond the end of the ridge of the roof, it may be sheared off flushwith the end of the roof and the pipethereafter sawed off by a. hacksaw, or otherwise, and screw threaded with a common screw threading toolto receive a coupling for a conduit for supplying water to the pipe orto receive an internally screw threaded cap to close the end of the pipeas the case may be.

Obviously the front end of the saddle board may also. be cut off toreceive a cap or a nipple or elbow leading to a water supply as may bedesired.

WVhen the device is to be assembled upon a house, as illustrated in Fig.1, the first saddle board section 15 is applied to the ridge of the roofand secured thereupon by nails or otherwise. The seconc section 16 isthen placed upon the roof. The coupling 14 is then applied to the screwthreaded rear end of, the section 15 and the front end 12 of the section16. Upon the setting up of the nipple or coupling 14, the front end ofthe section 15 will'be caused to overlap the rear end of the saddleboard 15. The overlapping sections may then be nailed to theroof. Othersaddle board sections 17 and 18 with their respective pipesections willbe similarly as; sembled and secured to the roof to extend the fulllength thereof. A suitable nipple or fitting 19 may be connected to therear end 13 of. the pipe 5 and a suitable pipe or conduit 20, connectedto the fitting 19, may extend downwardly in any convenient way asbeneath the roof and downwardly adjacent a corner of the house where itslower end may be coupled with any suitable water-supplying means, suchas a service pipe leading to a sill cock 21. The pipe 20 may be providedwith a suitable valve 22 which may be opened when the sill cook 21 isclosed, to supply water through the pipe 20 and fitting 19 to thedistributing pipe or.conduit 5 which extends along the ridge of the roofof the build- When water under pressure is thus supplied to the conduit5 it is projected from the pipe or conduit in small jets at uniformdistances throughout the length of the roof and both sides of the roofthereof. Thus-water may be distributed with substantial uniformity overpractically the entire area of the roof.

The pressure and volume of the water may be controlled by the valve 22so that a relatively small amount of water may be used when it isdesired merely to cool the roof alone, or a much larger quantity may bedischarged when it is desired to protect the roof from fire.

By discharging a large quantity of water from the pipe or conduit 5 ablanket of water may be caused todescend from the eaves of he roof, (ifthere is no gutter present) which will protect the side of the housefrom flames of an adjacent burning house. Furthermore, the sheetof waterthus projected from the roof may be used in the summer to increaseevaporation of moisture in the vicinity of the house for the purpose ofcooling the surrounding air.

In some instances it may be desirable to provide the pipe or conduit 5with a cover or housing which will act not only to conceal the pipe andprovide a more pleasing appearance, but which will also to a greatmeasure protect the jet orifices against the action of heavy wind. Sucha housing 23 or covering is illustrated in Figs. 4: and 5 and comprisesa plate of sheet metal bent into V-shape preferably correspondingsubstantially in angularit-y to the form of the saddle board. This coveror housing desirably is secured to the brackets 6 and may beconveniently connected thereto by the screws 11. In such case suitabletapering washers 2 l may be placed between the cylindrical upper end ofthe bracket 6 and the under face of the cover or housing 23. ()therwashers 25 having re-entrant under faces and a flat upper face may beinterposed between the upper side of the housing 23 and the head 26 ofthe screw 11.

While the invention has heretofore been described as providing means forprojecting water upon the roof for fire prevention purposes and for thepurpose of coolingthe roof and airing the vicinity of the building, itis obvious that it may be employed to conduct other fluids which may bemore elfective for extinguishing fires by providing a suitable couplingat the lower end of the pipe 20, or where a reservoir is located uponthe top of the factory for fire prevention purposes, as is quite common,the inlet pipe 20 may lead from the reservoir with a suitable valve forcontrollingthe delivery of water from the reservoir to the inlet pipe20.

The presence of the sheet metal saddle board and the pipe upon the ridgeof the roof with the metallic connection therefrom to the ground alsoprovides in efiect a lightning rod which will protect the roof of thebuildingfrom being struck by lightning.

it will, therefore, be understood that the term saddle board is usedherein in a broad sense to include not only a member having angularlydisposed sides or flanges to embrace the ridge of the roof, but alsoangularly disposed-members adapted to embrace the edge of a roof, suchas a flat roof, or any other ridge or corner of a building.

\Vhile the fluid-conducting means illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings is in the form of a pipe or conduit which is carried bybrackets upon the pipe section, it will be obvious that other forms ofconduits may be employed and that such other forms of conduit sectionsmay be otherwise attached to or formed integral with the saddle boardsection;

It will, therefore, be understood that the particular embodiment of theinvention shown in the drawings is of an illustrative character and isnot restrictive of the scope or meaning of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimedas new, and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A fire-protective and roof-cooling device comprising a sheet metalsaddle board, for the ridge of a roof, formed in sections each having afluid-conducting conduit section rigidly mounted thereupon and extendinglongitudinally thereof and perforated at intervals, and means forcoupling the sec tions of said fluid-conducting conduits togetheroperable to retain said saddle board sections in overlapping assembledposition,

2. A fire-protectiveand roof-cooling device comprising a Vshaped sheetmetal saddle board formed in sections, each having a fluid-conductingconduit section rigidly mounted thereupon and extending longitudinallythereof, andperforated at intervals andat one end terminating short ofthe same end of the -saddle board, and means for coupling said conduitsections together operable to assemble and secure the adjacent ends ofsaddle board sections in. overlapping relation.

3. A fire-protective and roof-cooling device comprising a V.-shapedsheet metal sad-, dle board formed in sections, each having afluid-conducting conduit section rigidly mounted thereupon and extendinglongitudinally thereof and perforated at intervals and at one endterminating short of the same end of the saddle board, right hand andleft hand screw threads upon the respective ends of the conduit, and anipple having its ends provided with right hand and left hand screwthreads complementary to those of said conduit, and operable to couplesaid conduit sections together and to assemble and maintain said saddleboard sections in overlap-ping relation.

4. A fire-protective and roof-cooling device comprising a V-shaped sheetmetal saddle board formed in sections, one end of each section beingsquared with, and the other end beveled backwardly from, the ridge ofthe section, a plurality of brackets rigid with said saddle board, a atintervals mounted in said brackets and terminating short of the beveledend of said saddle board section, and coupling means operable toconnectthe ends of pipe sections together and to assemble and maintain thebeveled end of one saddle board section in overlapping relationrelatively to the squared end of another section. v

5. A fire-protective and roof-cooling device comprising a V-shaped sheetmetal saddle board formed in sections, one end of each section beingsquared with, and the other end beveled backwardly from, the ridge ofthe section, a plurality of brackets rigid with said saddle board, apipe section perforated at intervals mounted in said brackets, extendinglongitudinally of said saddle board section and terminating short of thebeveled end and extending beyond the squared end 7 of said saddle boardsection, and coupling vice comprising a V-shaped metal means operable toconnect the ends of the pipe sections together and to assemble saidsections with the beveled end of one section overlapping the squared endof another section.

6. A fire-protective and roof-cooling desaddle board formed in sections,a plurality of brackets having legs rigidly secured to each of saidsaddle board sections and having pipereceiving loops spaced from theridge of said saddle board, means securing said loops to said pipe, andmeans for coupling the ends of adjacent pipe sections together inlongitudinal alinement.

7. A fire-protective and roof-cooling device comprising a V-shaped metalsaddle pipe section perforated board formed in sections, a plurality ofbrackets having legs rigidly secured to said saddle board,pipe-receiving loops spaced from the ridge of said saddle board, aninverted V-shaped housing mounted on said brackets and covering saidpipe, and coupling means for connecting adjacent pipe sections inlongitudinal alinement operable also to assemble the ends of said saddleboard sections and the ends of said housing sections together inoverlapping relation.

8. A fire-protective and roof-cooling device comprising a V-shaped metalsaddle boa-rd formed in sections, a plurality of brackets having legsrigidly secured to said saddle board, pipe-receiving loops spaced fromthe ridge of said saddle board, an inverted V-shaped'housing mounted onsaid brackets and covering said pipe, machine screws extending throughthe ridge of said housing and the loops of said brackets therebeneathinto said pipe sections, and coupling means operable to connect the endsof said pipe sections together and to assemble the ends of the saddleboard sections and the ends of said housing sections in overlappingrelation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

CARLOS T. PIERCE.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION,

Patent No. 1,831,880. Granted November 17, 1931, to

CARLOS T. PIERCE.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 4,strike out lines 54 to 63, comprising claim 6, and for the ordinals ofclaims 7 and 8 read 6 and 7; and that the said Letters Patent should beread with these corrections therein that the same may coniorm to therecord of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of February, A. D. 1932.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

